The Devourer opped chewing deeper into the stone now. There had been some breakdowns at first and the occasional oddity to side-track Tenebroum, but that had been before it had felt the heat. It was getting close. It was certain of that.

  The rest of the world fell away as it bored deeper and deeper into the dark. If the All-Father still breathed and his dwarves were still sahen they would have certainly found a thousand ways to stop this project. They were gone now, though, and nothing stood in the Lich’s way.

  Well, nothing except the terrible heat of the All-Father’s fes. For a time, the underground rivers that the Devourer had already intersected were enough to keep it cool while it did its job. Eventually, all of those boiled off, though, and drudges had to be ordered to pour water down the endless well one bucket at a time. It was no longer a straight tuhanks to its meandering search for the heart of the world, but it was over a mile down now, and the work that was being done happened so distantly that it could no longer be heard evehe steam an wasn’t pying.

  None of that distance made Tenebroum stop thinking about it, though, as its reserves dwindled. It found pockets of shadows in the depths sometimes now. It was deep enough for such hungry shades to flod swarm, but they were nothing pared to the feast it was looking for, and it waited very impatiently for that day to arrive.

  Then, one day, it did. The Devour was doing the same thing it has always done, chewing slowly through hard igneous rock that was dense enough to resist eveouch of kobold cws ah that the worm of metal and bone wielded so effitly, when it finally came upon a cavern like any other.

  Most of the periphery was filled with va, and in the ter was a fe te for any ma alone dwarf, to use. Tenebroum could barely exist close enough to see it because of the light, and in the same way, the Devourer was forced to retreat because of the heat as it began to smolder because of the heat. With a brief and, it pulled back its dark titan as well.

  Tenebroum was sure that the stone man could withstand the heat, but it was equally sure that the lead bindings that ed it to the Lich’s service could not. No, only the legion of rust might hope to brave these temperatures, and evehey might not withstand them forever.

  The Lich withdrew, though it wao scream in frustration at the turn of events. “You are dead!” it ragged at the dim memory deep is soul. “You are dead, and your fe fires should have long since grown cold!”

  No part of the All-Father respoo that, but then he couldn’t. He was now only one soul among an infinite chorus ments. The Lich would have to solve this itself.

  Fortunately, after a little thought, it decided that there was a fairly simple way to do just that. It would reroute the Oroza and drain the river into the depths, killing two birds with oo would weaken his escaped pet even further if she yet lived, and it would extinguish the Fe of Creation so that it could get at the darkness of primordial chaos that was sealed somewhere behind it.

  This would take time, though. The st thing it wao do was flood its entire ir again, now that it had just been ed and rebuilt. Given all the work it had doo put this well of darko work, though, the groundwork had already been id, even if actally. Slowly, over the course of hours, the pn came together in its vast mind, and as it did, its drudges dutifully got to work.

  It would use the disused river entrahat Oroza had entered so long ago, seal off all of the side passages, and struct a tuhat led to the well of darkness, which it would reinforce at all critical juns. Up until now, it had rgely ignored many of the pces where the walls met caverns, but now each of those represented a leak that would divert water off into the darkness instead of its real goal of putting out the fe father’s bsted fires ond for all.

  Work was slow in both dires, but then, it was in no hurry now. What it truly wanted was all but within its grasp. There was no o these depths to trouble it any longer, and the surrounding area on the surface had bee nothing but a blighted wastend. That will only accelerate ohe river dries up, it thought eagerly as it surveyed the blight that was everywhere now. It was rare to even see a bird or a rodent at this point, and though the earth around its tower was still stained bck, for leagues in every dire after that, it had turned gray on this side of the river.

  Tenebroum missed the days when it had lives in every dire that it could siphon from or snuff out as it willed, but it did nret the path it had taken. The road to power was long and winding, and though the Liever imagihat it would have to drill deep into the bowels of the underways, it all made sense irospect. Long ago, even before it had crawled from the s, it had grafted itself into the world, carving its secret name deep into the stones. So, if the world beloo it, then surely all the darkness beh it and all the night sky above it did as well, didn’t it?

  Once I have achieved this, the mongrel won’t stand a ce against me, Tenebroum mused. I will fy its soul to nothing. I will torture it until it begs for the sort of kindness I showed to Krulm’venor and Kelvun.

  That thought brought to mind its dread tome, and the Lich quickly reorie its attention back to the book. It had been using it less and less sis phyctery had been sundered, but that didn’t mean it should it entirely. “Show me everything we know about where Krulm’venor’s journey,” Tenebroum ahe Skoetiikos. “After that, I want to see everywhere The Queen of Thorns has been and everywhere she might have go. My minions ot have simply vanished.”

  Tenebroum was too weak to seek them out just now, but soon it would have all the strength it would ever require, and it was dark pao be reassembled to withat ing moment. While it brooded, the book's pages filled faster and faster, with a long, meandering path deep beh the world at a depth of almost half a mile. That was the tome’s best guess as to where Krulm’venor was. Sihe dwarf required the Lich’s and to do anything at all, it must still be raging away in the Iron City, looking for things to destroy.

  The Lich wao believe that was true, but it was unvinced. Such a fate would be too perfect, and nothing had been going right sihe Worm had nearly ruined everything.

  The Queen of Thorns and even the Voice of Reason were more ing. They had much more free will tharut fire godling, aher of them had e home. That, more than anything else, indicated a real problem. Either the loss of their e to it had shem out like a dle, or they had decided that they eheir freedom.

  The former would be tragic, as such a fate would indicate that most of its vast armies had all but dispersed in its absehe tter, though… such a thing would be unfivable. If it discovered that they yet existed when its current goal was in hand… well, it would devour them screaming and repce them with someone more loyal.

  Tenebroum brooded ohoughts as it stared at the map of all the woods its dark nature Goddess had already subjugated. It hat there was nothing anywhere close to stantinal that had not been quered by her. If those territories no longer beloo it, and such powers were flowing to her instead, then she might be a mighty foe in her ht. Its grew as it began to pte various -based tinge could ena the worst case.

  From there, its minds spiraled out into a dozen different dires. With nothing to do but wait, the Lich atteo dozens of minor tasks and half-fotten experiments, chiefest among which were putting together the many shattered bodies it had so carefully created back together. With any luck, it would never hem, but that wouldn’t stop the structs from standing there in mute testament to its glory, just as its huard had done for so many decades.

  Time slowed to a crawl for the Lich as it lost itself in a thousay pursuits. It studied its dark titan for some clue as to what its alien, broken mind was thinking, it poured over the Skoetiikos for some clue as to where its minions might be, and eaight, it studied the stars, looking for oints iterns that separated it from the limitless sea of darkness.

  Then, just like that, it was time to open the floodgates. Tenebroum had been so lost in its other thoughts and schemes that it had not noticed the passage of time. The Lich turned and reflected, viewing the entire system one more time and noting how like a living thing its giahen body had bee. It now had a mind, a nervous system, els for air and water, and, of course, all of that was built for the single purpose of its own survival.

  It had grown too grand in scale for anyone else save anod to uand it, but it did not care. It wanted nothing from mortals except for their bodies and souls, and soon it would have them. With that thought in mind, the Lich opehe floodgates and released an eorrent of water into the depths. Soon, it would have everything, and it would never go hungry again.